u/KMoosetoe

From Grandia and Final Fantasy VII during the PS1 era to Final Fantasy X and Xenosaga during the PS2 era, it felt like there was a linear direction that character driven epic JRPGs were going in.

Sprawling adventures with big stakes and discovery, characters with heart and charm, and jaw dropping cutscenes you awaited with great anticipation.

Of course not every JRPG fit under this umbrella, but the boundary pushing ones felt like they were evolving in a certain way.

In those days, you couldn't help but wonder what future JRPGs would be like.

In many ways, what I envisioned, was a lot like the game that Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is.

But what we got was the PS3 generation. For console JRPG fans, this was the dark ages.

Handhelds were thriving, but they weren't offering the big spectacle JRPGs that were staples of the previous generations.

On the console side, JRPG studios were struggling with HD development and as a result the JRPGs that came out during this time suffered from many constraints.

Despite the negativity surrounding it, I actually think Final Fantasy XIII was a commendable effort (though not its sequels), but it obviously sacrificed open exploration and scale in favor of graphical prowess, whereas in previous generations you had the best of both world relative to console power of the time.

Back to Xenoblade 2, this game is exactly what a "modern Final Fantasy" should be (even right down to the Nomura designs) and yet that franchise has gone down a path that can no longer even be described as a JRPG.

Xenoblade 2 is a throwback to games like Final Fantasy X. Character driven narrative with well directed cutscenes, great combat depth, killer soundtrack, and of course exploration which is where the modern sensibilities come into play. Xenoblade 2 isn't a fully open world game, it's open zone. The zones are big, but not too overwhelming, and filled to the brim with secrets, challenges, loot, and side quests. This is what couldn't be achieved during the PS2 era, but is now possible.

Instead of trying to take JRPGs in a lateral direction, regression, or something entirely unrecognizable, Xenoblade 2 makes use of current tech to simply evolve on what always worked.

It's so obvious and yet there's nothing else out there like it right now.

>!And yes, I know this game is 9 years old at this point, but I only got to it now as a Switch 2 owner. (the handheld boost is elite!)!<